https://pixabay.com/illustrations/ai-generated-mountain-adventure-9304713/
When life wants to make you stronger, it doesn't send you comfort. It sends you a challenge.
And even so, our first thought is:
“Why am I being punished? Why is life against me?”
It is not uncommon for us to look to God as a way out. We almost only remember Him when things are not going our way. But shouldn't God always be remembered or always be present?
If God exists, He should not be seen only as an insurance policy, something we turn to only when we are distressed or in pain.
This is one of the most common criticisms made by non-believers or agnostics. And there is indeed some truth in this criticism. God never abandons you. You have to seek to listen to Him. He never leaves you alone or walks out your door. We think that He manifests Himself in a more untimely way, or that He is governed by rules tailored to humans. But how could that be? How could something superior to us be governed by human rules or metrics? It would be very mercenary. We would pay for our sins or failures with something, and receive something in return.
But I believe that this is not how humans manifest their faith.
We must seek to leave the world and ourselves better than we found them when we woke up. We must seek, at least, not to cause further harm or damage.
If we had this thought every day, would there be so much human suffering and misery? If each human being sought to be a source of well-being, relief, or at least a safe haven for others and for themselves?
When we manage to think this way, we can see more clearly around us. The problem is that we are not perfect. And thank goodness we are not. We are not machines, and we must, in our failures and in those of others, always seek to do and give our best.
But the obstacle is never the enemy, it is life itself in disguise. An invitation to discover the depths within yourself that would otherwise remain dormant or hidden.
When a man like David, who was destined to rule, was not simply handed a golden crown. He was sent a giant.
Because strength is not something granted from outside, it must be stirred from within us, like a smoldering fire from embers hitherto hidden...
The mountain is not placed before you to crush you, but to reveal what has always been within you.
By the simple act of finding it, something in you will remember itself.
So when the storm comes, as it always does... we just don't know when, don't curse it, and don't run or flee from it. Bow before it. For the storm is not your ruin. It is your initiation.
Free image from Pixabay.com
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
